Category Archives: d3b

The Most Inclusive and Important Expression of the Teachings of the Buddha

While Kumarajiva’s Chinese version has been adapted into Japanese, no one imagines that this Japanese version, or the Chinese version, or any other version is by itself the Dharma Flower Sutra, the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma, to use the full title. The precise meaning of the term “The Dharma Flower Sutra” and its equivalents in other languages has to remain somewhat imprecise, as there is no single text which is “The Lotus Sutra,” no one original from which others are derived. Even in the Sutra itself, there is no consistently maintained distinction between the Dharma Flower Sutra and Buddha Dharma. In a sense, we can say that the Sutra understands itself to be the most inclusive and important expression of the teachings of the Buddha.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p9

One Vehicle of Many Means

Having added the “missing” portion of the Lotus Sūtra’s Chapter 5, The Simile of Herbs, I’m continuing my Office Lens housecleaning with quotes I saved from Gene Reeves’ Translator’s Introduction to his 2008 translation of the The Lotus Sutra.

Today’s quote ties nicely to the Buddha’s statement in Simile of the Clay Pots: “O Kāśyapa, there are not three vehicles. There are only beings of severally different modes of conduct, and for that reason three vehicles are designated.”

While the three ways [Pratyekabuddhas, Śrāvakas and Bodhisattvas] can be understood as two, they can also be understood as representative of many ways. “Ever since I became a buddha,” Shakyamuni says at the beginning of chapter 2, “I have used a variety of causal explanations and a variety of parables to teach and preach, and countless skillful means to lead living beings.” The reason the Dharma is so difficult to understand and accept is that a great many teaching devices have been used, among them both the metaphor of the three vehicles and the reality underlying the metaphor, the three different approaches themselves. What makes everything clear, says the Buddha, is an understanding of the one vehicle of many skillful means now being revealed.

While the Lotus Sutra rejects the extreme of pure diversity and the consequent danger of nihilism through use of the one vehicle as the unity in purpose of the many skillful means, it also clearly rejects the opposite extreme of complete unity in which diversity disappears or is relegated to mere illusion. Here diversity is not lamented but regarded as a necessary consequence of the fact that living beings and their situations are diverse. And it is celebrated as the way in which a diversity of people can share the Dharma. Even when the sutra describes a future paradise, it includes shravakas as well as bodhisattvas; the diversity of approaches never disappears. In this sense, as in many others, this sutra teaches a “middle way,” here a middle way between utter diversity and sheer unity.

The infinite variety of ways of teaching have the one purpose of leading all living beings to pursue the goal of becoming a buddha, a goal that everyone without exception can reach, though the time may be very long and the way far from smooth or easy. (Reeves, p12-13)

The Great Power in Tactful Means

The World-honored One was silent and did not stop [the 5,000 who left]. This was because he thought that even if he forced them to remain, they could not understand his teaching and it would tend instead to produce an adverse result. He also considered that they would wish to seek a true teaching sometime in the future and would in time develop the capacity to understand it. His preaching to them at that time would be the quickest way to save them.

At first glance this attitude of the Buddha seems to indicate indifference to others, but his mind in its profundity was filled with the great wisdom and benevolence of the Buddha. This is clear from the incident recounted in chapter 8, “The Five Hundred Disciples Receive the Prediction of Their Destiny.” When he gave a great many arhats the prediction that they would become buddhas in accordance with their practice, he said to Kāśyapa, “The other band of śrāvakas will also be like them. To those who are not in this assembly, do you proclaim my words.” The Buddha’s words “those who are not in this assembly” refer to the five thousand monks who had risen from their seats and left the assembly earlier. The fact that he purposely did not stop them at that time demonstrates his great power in tactful means.

Buddhism for Today, p45

The Necessity of Resting Places

The Lotus Sutra is sometimes said to disparage the shravaka way and its emphasis on nirvana. And it is indeed true that some passages in the Sutra can be cited to support this view. For example, in Chapter 2 we can read:

For those with dull minds
Who want lesser teachings,
Who greedily cling to existence,
Who, after encountering countless buddhas,

Still do not follow
The profound and wonderful way,
And are tormented by much suffering –
For them I teach nirvana. (LS 86-7)

But passages of this kind are rare and, while they are one way of looking at the matter, they do not represent the overall view of the Lotus Sutra, which is basically that shravaka teachings are an important step along the Buddha Way. Already in Chapter 1 we can find:

By various causal explanations
And innumerable parables,
[The buddhas] illuminate the Buddha-dharma And open understanding of it to all.

Or weary from age, disease, or death,
For them they teach nirvana
To bring all suffering to an end.

The shravaka way certainly is not being belittled or disparaged – after all, it brings suffering to an end. For those who sought to be shravakas he taught the Dharma of the four truths for overcoming birth, old age, disease, and death, and attaining nirvana.

Thus we find references to this shravaka nirvana as “incomplete nirvana, or as what shravakas “think is nirvana.” Not surprisingly, we find contrasting terms in the text as well, such as “ultimate nirvana.”

At one point in Chapter 7, the Buddha says, “the nirvana that you have attained is not the real one!” This implies, of course, that there is a greater nirvana of some kind. This greater nirvana is often characterized in the Dharma Flower Sutra as “buddha-wisdom.” The shravaka nirvana, the Buddha says, is “only close to buddha-wisdom.” (LS 199) Sometimes the text goes further, declaring that real nirvana is a matter of being a buddha. Thus, at the end of Chapter 7 we find:

When I know they have reached nirvana
And all have become arhats,
Then I gather everyone together
And teach the real Dharma.

Through their powers of skillful means,
Buddhas make distinctions and teach three vehicles.
But there is really only one Buddha-Vehicle.
It is for a resting place that the other two are taught.

Now I teach the truth for you:
What you have reached is not extinction.
To gain a buddha’s comprehensive wisdom, You have to make a great effort.

When you have gained comprehensive wisdom,
And the ten powers of the Buddha-dharma,
And acquired the thirty-two characteristics,
Then that is real extinction. (LS 206)

Thus, what is taught in the Dharma Flower Sutra, and in the parable of the fantastic castle-city, is that an experience of nirvana that leads you to think you have accomplished all that you need to accomplish is always an illusion. Yet, while it is an illusion, it is not necessarily a bad illusion, since, by providing a resting place along the way, it can enable people to pursue the greater goal of acquiring buddha-wisdom, of becoming a buddha. Resting places can be illusions and escapes, but they may be both useful and necessary. Without them many people, including ourselves, might not be able to continue on the way. We should not, then, be too critical of resting places, especially of the resting places of others.

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra, p 96-98

The Inexplicable Merit of Having Heard the Lotus Sūtra

When the “Expedients” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra was preached, 5,000 self-conceited ones did not believe in what they heard and withdrew from the preaching of the Lotus Sūtra. Nevertheless, they became Buddhas in three months’ time because they did not slander the Lotus Sūtra. Referring to this incident, it is preached in the Nirvana Sūtra, “Both believers and non-believers will be born in the Immovable Land.” Those who heard the Lotus Sūtra can become Buddhas even if they do not put faith in the sūtra, so long as they do not slander it, due to the inexplicable merit of having heard the sūtra. This is like the person bitten by a poisonous snake called shichibuja who is bound to fall within taking seven steps and is unable to take the eighth step due to the inexplicable work of the poison. Or it is also like an embryo that changes its shape within seven days and never stays in one shape for more than eight days.

Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 52

If Easy to Believe, the Sūtra Is Not the True Dharma

After all, those with capacity to understand and have full faith in Buddhism who had the luck of listening to Śākyamuni Buddha preach the Lotus Sūtra in India must have accumulated a great deal of merit in their past lives. Moreover, they were fortunate to have been assisted and guided by the Lord Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, who had come to attest to the truth of Śākyamuni’s words, various Buddhas in manifestation who had come from all over the universe, numerous bodhisattvas who had sprung up from underground, and such distinguished disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha as Mañjuśrī and Maitreya. Nevertheless, there were some who were not converted to the Lotus Sūtra. This is the reason why those self-conceited, as many as 5,000, moved out when the Buddha was about to start preaching (chapter 2, “Expedients”), and why some men and gods were transferred to other worlds (chapter 11, “The Appearance of the Stupa of Treasures”). It was so even while Śākyamuni Buddha was alive. How much more difficult is it to believe in the Lotus Sūtra in the Ages of the True Dharma and Semblance Dharma after the death of Śākyamuni Buddha, not to say in the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration? If you could easily believe in the sūtra, it would mean that the sūtra is not the True Dharma.

Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 134

Lotus Sūtra and Ten Realms

The second, “Expedients,” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra (fascicle 1) states that the purpose of the Buddhas appearing in the worlds was “to cause all living beings to open the gate to the insight of the Buddha.” This means that of the nine of the ten realms of living beings (excepting the realm of Buddhas), each embraces the realm of Buddhas. In the sixteenth chapter, “The Life Span of the Buddha,” the sūtra also declares: “As I said before, it is immeasurably long since I, Śākyamuni Buddha, obtained Buddhahood. My life spans an innumerably and incalculably long period of time. Nevertheless, I am always here and I shall never pass away. Good men! The duration of my life, which I obtained by practicing the way of bodhisattvas, has not yet expired. It will last twice as long as the length of time as stated above.” This passage also shows that the nine realms are included in the realm of Buddhas.

The following passages in the Lotus Sūtra also show that the ten realms of living beings embrace one another. It is said in the twelfth chapter, “Devadatta,” that after an incalculably long period of time, Devadatta will be a Buddha called “Heavenly King.” This shows the realm of Buddhas included in the realms of hells as it says that even a man as wicked as Devadatta, who had tried to kill the Buddha and had gone to hell, will be able to become a Buddha.

In the twenty-sixth chapter on the “Mystic Phrases,” the Buddha praises the ten female rākṣasa demons such as Lambā saying, “Your merits will be immeasurable even when you protect the person who keeps only the name of the Lotus Sūtra.” Since even these rākṣasa demons in the realm of hungry spirits protect the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra, the ten realms, from hells up to the realm of Buddhas, are comprised in the realm of hungry spirits.

The “Devadatta” chapter states also that a daughter of a dragon king attained perfect enlightenment, proving the existence of the ten realms in the realm of beasts.

The tenth chapter, “The Teacher of the Dharma,” says that even a semi-god like Asura King Balin (a king of asura demons mentioned in the first “Introduction” chapter) will obtain Buddhahood if he rejoices for a moment at hearing a verse or a phrase of the Lotus Sūtra. This shows that the ten realms are contained in the realm of asura demons.

It is stated in the second “Expedients” chapter: “Those who carve an image of the Buddha with proper physical characteristics in His honor have already attained the enlightenment of the Buddha,” showing that the realm of man includes the ten realms in it.

Then in the first “Introduction” and the third “A Parable” chapters, various gods such as the great King of the Brahma Heaven declare, “we also shall be able to become Buddhas,” proving that the ten realms are contained in the realm of gods. In the third chapter, the Buddha assures Śāripūtra, the wisest of His śrāvaka disciples, that he will also attain Buddhahood in future life and will be called “Kekō (Flower Light) Buddha.” This confirms the existence of the ten realms in the realm of śrāvaka.

The second chapter states that those monks and nuns who sought emancipation through the way of pratyekabuddha (without guidance of teachers by observing the principle of cause and effect) pressed their hands together in respect, wishing to hear the Perfect Way. This affirms the existence of the ten realms in the realm of pratyekabuddha.

It is written in the twenty-first chapter, “Divine Powers of the Buddha,” that bodhisattvas as numerous as particles of dust of 1,000 worlds, who had sprung up from underground, beseeched the Buddha for this true, pure, and great dharma, namely the Lotus Sūtra. This verifies the existence of the ten realms in the realm of bodhisattvas.

Finally, in the sixteenth chapter, the Buddha sometimes appears as a Buddha in the realm of Buddhas but at other times appears as some of the others who reside in the other nine realms. This indicates that the ten realms are included in the realm of Buddhas.

Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 132-133

The Path of the Buddha

In Chapter II, the Buddha reveals that there are not separate and incomplete practices but simply the Single Buddha practice of the Lotus Sutra. The Buddhas show the insight of the Buddha completely and unobstructed so that all people are able to benefit fully from the path the Buddha awakened to.

Lecture on the Lotus Sutra

Realizing Real Salvation

As long as even a man of great wisdom, such as Śāriputra, only desired to obtain enlightenment for himself and to be saved for his own sake, he could not possibly bridge the great gulf between his own and the Buddha’s enlightenment, though he had already nearly attained the Buddha’s enlightenment. However, he was able to leap the gulf at the moment when he realized that real salvation consists in one’s own salvation together with that of all other people.

This is the true meaning of the Buddha’s words, “The buddhas teach only bodhisattvas.” He said this in order to explain that only bodhisattvas, those who practice to save all living beings, can grasp the true teachings of the Buddha.

Buddhism for Today, p47

One Vehicle for All Beings

The One-vehicle means: All people can become buddhas. The enlightenment obtained by śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas alike is one by which they become buddhas, and it is the same in origin. Some can obtain the enlightenment of a śrāvaka and others can obtain that of a pratyekabuddhahood. Both aspects of enlightenment are gates to the Buddha knowledge.

This is allegorically explained as follows: A person who has entered this gate cannot enter the inner room of the Buddha-knowledge until he has first passed through the porch of the bodhisattva practice. At the same time, it cannot be said that the gate and the porch are not both included within the residence of the Buddha. However, if a person stays at the gate, he will be drenched when it rains and chilled when it snows. “All of you, come into the inner room of the Buddha’s residence. The eastern gate, the western gate, and the porch, all are entrances that lead to the inner room of the Buddha-knowledge.” This is the meaning of the Buddha’s words, “Besides the One Buddha-vehicle, there is neither a second vehicle nor a third. I have shown the existence of these two vehicles by my tactful power. There is only one true goal for all.”

Buddhism for Today, p48